Panoramic images have an elongated field of view. Panoramic images may be generated using a camera that rotates around a viewpoint. The panoramic image is taken over time as the camera rotates. In the case of film cameras, a motorized mechanism rotates the camera continuously and pulls the film through the camera, so the motion of the film matches that of the image movement across the image plane. Digital rotating line cameras image a panorama line by line as the camera rotates.
One limitation of a rotating camera is that moving objects cannot be imaged. A moving object in the field of view of the camera appears distorted. If the moving object is in the background of the panoramic image, the moving object appears blurry. If the moving object is near the foreground of the panoramic image, the moving object may appear as a long streak or blurred object. Another limitation of a rotating camera is that the rotating camera may not collect clear images from a moving location. Thus, rotating cameras may not collect clear images from a motor vehicle.
Stereo images create or enhance the illusion of depth in a flat image using two images designed to simulate the perception of depth based on how the human eyes process an image. Two adjacent cameras may be used to collect stereo images. However, in the case of stereo panoramic images, a pair of rotating cameras may not generate desirable stereo images because the cameras may also image each other, disrupting the panoramic images.